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What the fuck was that supposed to mean? “Sometimes it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”
“Most times, things aren’t.”
Nick got a good look at the guy to be sure it wasn’t anyone he’d ever met. Tats on both arms peeking from underneath his long-sleeved black shirt, with scrollwork, dragons, and other symbols etched in black. Expert work on the artist’s part. The man had wavy dark hair, just to his shoulders. He was slender, but with some muscles he appeared tough as well. His dark eyes were glacier cold. Like a man who didn’t get fucked with often, or he would make you pay. Strangely, he was eating a square of cheese from the buffet table as if he hadn’t a care in the world.
He seemed familiar, but Nick definitely would’ve remembered him.
“I didn’t catch your name,” Nick said.
“I didn’t say.” He polished off the cheese, eyeing Nick. “But it’s Jinn.”
“Jinn . . . ?” he prompted.
“Just Jinn. No last name.”
Inside him, Nick’s wolf shifted and rumbled in warning. Just Jinn. The name from his vision, he realized with a start. Possibly the man who would abduct Noah. “And how is that?”
Moving closer, he got a whiff of Jinn’s scent and found he wasn’t a shifter, or a vampire. He wasn’t Fae, human, or anything from this world at all, it seemed.
The man—creature—laughed, showing off straight white teeth with very large incisors. “Did you know that in Arabian mythology, the Jinn are the third creation of God, after angels and humans? It’s said that we’re made of smoke and fire, can take human form, and travel between dimensions. And we can be either good or evil, as the mood strikes us.”
“Is that so?” Nick tensed, ready for battle if need be.
Jinn shrugged, grinning. “Some call us genies. But you can’t believe everything you read, right? I simply consider myself more your garden-variety Sorcerer.”
He wished Kalen, or even Sariel, were here to check this guy out and give their own opinions. Being Sorcerers, and Fae, they had a much better radar for magical beings than anyone else.
“Interesting,” he said with a half smile. “Never met a genie before. If I rub the top of your head, will you grant me three wishes?”
Jinn blinked at him for a second and then laughed out loud, causing a few vampires to turn and stare. Nick noticed that the humor still didn’t seem to reach the Sorcerer’s eyes.
“Points to you, wolf. You’re not the first one to make that joke about me. But you are the first one to ever say it to my face.”
“How did you know I’m a wolf?” he asked casually.
“Someone must’ve told me.”
“Who did you say you came here with?”
“A friend. Nobody you’d know.” He pushed away from the wall. “It was nice talking to you, Nick. See you around.”
“Sure.” Brows furrowed, he watched the Sorcerer start to make his way through the crowd. Before Jinn got too far, though, he stopped and turned, looking back at Nick.
His lips were curved in a half smile, his eyes flashing with some dark, dangerous emotion. A very real current of malice hit Nick square in the chest, so blatantly physical he gasped from the wave of blackness.
Then Jinn was gone.
And Nick knew, without a doubt, they would meet again. He just didn’t know when.
Shaking off the sudden chill, he put the encounter out of his mind and made a sweep of the entire room. A few minutes later, he realized Calla and Rolan still hadn’t returned from their walk. And that they’d damned well been gone long enough.
Blood heating with anger, he slipped from the party and out a side entrance. Once under the cover of the trees, he discarded his clothes and let his wolf free. Picking up Calla’s scent, and the vampire’s, was easy.
But ripping out the bastard’s throat if he’d touched what was his would be a sheer pleasure.
* * *
The sun was setting as Calla joined Rolan on their walk, the play of light and shadow over the mountain making the scenery stunning.
